John Beekler presented MassDEP’s PFAS workload and technical developments. He told the committee "we have a total of 208 notifications," noting notification counts have held roughly steady over recent years after a 2021–22 spike tied to initial identification efforts. Beekler said most notifications are related to groundwater impacts; only about 10% were soil exceedances alone.

MassDEP has installed 98 point‑of‑entry treatment (POET) systems to address imminent hazards in private wells; 37 of those systems have been transferred to site owners after an initial two‑year maintenance/monitoring period, and 61 remain in DEP care for monitoring. Beekler described standard POET configurations (lead/lag GAC vessels with sediment filters and sampling ports) and said the agency continues to maintain and monitor systems in active DEP care.

An emerging technical concern is radon adsorption onto GAC used in these systems. "GAC has been great in treating PFAS. It's also a great absorbent for, radon," Beekler said, noting that decaying radon on spent GAC can cause gamma emissions and may create disposal challenges. DEP said it is addressing affected systems case‑by‑case, has installed aeration pretreatment where needed, and is evaluating alternative absorbents and pre‑treatment strategies.

Beekler described ongoing pilot and technology work: a smoldering test for PFAS‑impacted soil at Joint Base Cape Cod, exploration of permeable reactive barriers (colloidal carbon) for groundwater, and evaluation of field screening methods to reduce PFAS analytical costs.

Ending

DEP will continue to track notification trends and pilot innovative remediation and treatment technologies, and invited technical follow‑up questions from attendees.